Wireless Sensors Powered by Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract

Monitoring parameters characterizing water quality, such as temperature, pH, and concentrations of heavy metals in natural waters, is often followed by transmitting the data to remote receivers using telemetry systems. Such systems are commonly powered by batteries, which can be inconvenient at times because batteries have a limited lifetime and must be recharged or replaced periodically to ensure that sufficient energy is available to power the electronics. To avoid these inconveniences, a microbial fuel cell was designed to power electrochemical sensors and small telemetry systems to transmit the data acquired by the sensors to remote receivers. The microbial fuel cell was combined with low-power, high-efficiency electronic circuitry providing a stable power source for wireless data transmission. To generate enough power for the telemetry system, energy produced by the microbial fuel cell was stored in a capacitor and used in short bursts when needed. Since commercial electronic circuits require a minimum 3.3 V input and our cell was able to deliver a maximum of 2.1 V, a DC-DC converter was used to boost the potential. The DC-DC converter powered a transmitter, which gathered the data from the sensor and transmitted it wirelessly to a remote receiver. To demonstrate the utility of the system, temporal variations in temperature were measured, and the data were wirelessly transmitted to a remote receiver.

High Power Density from a Miniature Microbial Fuel Cell Using Shewanella oneidensis DSP10

“…In addition, small biofuel cells show promise over batteries or solar cells for applications such as powering autonomous sensors or sensor networks (7)(8)(9)(10). Many homeland security, military, and medical applications for miniature sensors make recharging or replacing batteries impossible, while other applications may require power sources to function in environments where there is limited or no sunlight.…”

Microbial fuel cells in bioelectricity production

“…The electricity production by MFC technology as of currently when compared with methanogenic anaerobic digestion falls short of economical (Logan 2004). The operating temperature also acts as a limitation for MFC technology as microbial reactions cease at temperatures below 20°C (Shantaram et al 2005). There are several factors involved in determining the efficiency of MFC technology namely, technical factors such as internal resistance, electrode potential and oxygen availability, which act as a hindrance in elevating the potential of MFC technology on a commercial and economical basis (Logan & Regan 2006).…”

Development of Bioelectrochemical Systems to Promote Sustainable Agriculture

“…Dissolved oxygen (DO) is crucial for the cathodic reaction, and therefore SMFC is typically installed in shallow waters [118]. Previous studies have demonstrated that SMFCs can produce electricity and supply power to wireless sensors in both marine and fresh-water environments [113,119,120]. Capacitors have been adopted to accumulate energy generated from MFCs [121][122][123][124].…”

“…They can be installed in wetlands, rivers or lakes near the farmland. To use the electricity, the output potentials must be boosted and operated by DC-DC converters and a PMS [119,120]. In the area where open water is not available, soil MFCs [130][131][132][133] or plant MFCs [134,135] may be applied.…”